Latch construction for ironing board



3 March 13, 1956 R. T. HOOD 2,737,739

LATCH CONSTRUCTION FOR IRONING BOARD Filed Feb. 2. 1954 United StatesPatent LATCH CONSTRUCTION FOR IRONING BOARD Robert Turner Hood, CastleBromwich, England, assignor to Bradley and Company Limited, MountPleasant, Bilston, England, a British company Application February 2,1954, Serial No. 407,764

2 Claims. (Cl. 38-11D This invention has reference to improvementsconnected with ironing boards of the kind wherein the board, which is ofan elongated character, is supported on forward and rearward legs whichcan be collapsed into adjacency with the underside of the board when thedevice is not in use and wherein the forward leg is connected by pivotallinks to the rearward legs; the upper end of the said forward leg whenin use being adapted to engage with a catch.

The object of the present invention is to provide a simplified form ofcatch for engagement with the upper extremity of the forward leg whenthe ironing board is in use and also to so construct the forward legthat greater rigidity is imparted to the board when in use.

The invention consists of an ironing board of the kind referred tocharacterised in that the catch takes the form of a spring loaded platehaving an aperture into which the upper extremity of the forward leg isadapted to enter and is furnished with a flange, which serves to leadthe upper end of the leg into the aperture during the engagement of theleg with the catch.

A convenient embodiment of the present invention will now be describedwith particular reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a general perspective view from below of an ironing board inaccordance with the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan from below of the catch seen in Fig. 1 and Fig. 3 is asection on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

The ironing board 4, which is made of perforated metal, is of the usualelongated shape and has pivotally connected to a cross member 5 at 6, onits underside situated adjacent its rearward end, a pair of tubular legs7 which are slightly splayed in an outward direction. Pivotallyconnected to each of these legs 7 intermediate its ends at 8 is the oneend of a link 9, the other end of which is pivoted to a depending plate10 at the mid-point of the said cross member 5. Also pivotally connectedat 8 to each of these legs 7 is the one end of a link 11, the other endof which is pivotally connected at 12, adjacent the upper end of theforward leg 13 of the ironing board. The forward leg of the ironingboard is of inverted Y form and is formed of tubular members, the stemof the Y projecting downwardly a short distance between the limbs of theY and having a transverse pin 14 which enters the pair of links 15 whichare pivotally connected at their other and upper end to the point ofinterconnection of the rearward legs 7 with the cross member 5 at 6. Theforward leg 13 is also pivotally connected at a point 16 above thejunction of its limbs to a pair of links 17 which are splayed outwardlyand pivotally connected at 18 to a forward cross member 19 on theunderside of the ironing board 4.

To the rearward side of the forward cross member 19 is disposed a sheetmetal box 20 in the underside of which are formed a pair of slots inwhich are accommodated a pair of cranked tongues 21 integral with acatch 22 and forming the hinge point therefor. This catch is formed as asheet metal plate and is of substantially triangulated shape in planhaving a circular aperture 23 adjacent the apex, which is opposite thehinge line, to receive the upper end of the forward leg 13 of theironing board. The catch has a downwardly directed flange 24, which dueto the triangulated shape of the catch serves as a lead for the upperend of the forward leg towards the aperture 23 whilst the leg is beingengaged with the catch. This flange 24 is extended forwardly beyond thehinge line on both sides and is turned over at 25 to provide stops whichabut against the underside of the forward cross member 19 under theaction of a spring 26 mounted within the box 20 and engaging an upwardlydirected integral tongue 27 on the catch plate 22. The underside of thecatch plate between the hinge line and the aperture is formed with ribs28 which assist in the sliding of the upper end of the forward leg 13over the catch plate 22, it being appreciated that during this operationthe catch plate is rocked against the action of the spring 26 until theupper end of the leg 13 registers with the aperture 23 and allows thecatch 22 to descend to embrace the leg and firmly hold it in position.The flanges 24 of the catch are desirably furnished with outwardlydirected Wings 24 which assist the manual rocking of the catch againstits spring loading 26 to release the leg 13 therefrom.

I claim:

1. In an ironing board of the type having an elongated board member witha pair of legs pivoted to said board member adjacent one end thereof anda third leg connected by linkage to said pair of legs and to said boardmember, the combination of the upper end of said third leg and a latchmember, said latch member consisting of a plate hingedly connected atone end to the underside of said board member and having a circularaperture adjacent its other end, said plate having a depending flangelooping around said aperture and extending tangentially and divergentlytherefrom to guide the upper end of said third leg into said apertureand to act as an abutment to prevent the upper end of said third legfrom moving beyond said aperture, there being a flat area extending fromsaid flange to strengthen it as an abutment and to constitute a fingerpiece which may be pressed upwardly to release the upper end of saidthird leg.

2. In an ironing board of the type having an elongated board member witha pair of legs pivoted to said board member adjacent one end thereof anda third leg connected by linkage to said pair of legs and to said boardmember, the combination of the upper end of said third leg and a latchmember, said latch member consisting of a plate hingedly connected atone end to the underside of said board member and having a circularaperture adjacent its other end, said plate having a depending flangelooping around said aperture and extending tangentially and divergentlytherefrom to guide the upper end of said third leg into said apertureand to act as an abutment to prevent the upper end of said third legfrom moving beyond said aperture, there being a flat area extending fromsaid flange to strengthen it as an abutment and to constitute a fingerpiece which may be pressed upwardly to release the upper end of saidthird leg, said third leg having a forked lower portion with laterallyspaced feet, said forked lower portion being pivoted to said linkage atlaterally spaced points to prevent twisting of said third leg in theaperture of said latch member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,018,295 Burr Feb. 20, 1912 2,311,612 Pleiss Feb. 16, 1943 2,484,768Van Pelt Oct. 11, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS 463,799 Canada Mar. 21, 1950689,540 Great Britain Apr. 1, 1953

